We read the stories of Jesus—his joy, his resolute peace through uncertainty, his unanxious presence, his relaxed manner and how in the moment he was—and think, I want that life. We hear his open invite to “life…to the full” and think, Sign me up. We hear about his easy yoke and soul-deep rest and think, Gosh, yes, heck yes. I need that. But then we’re not willing to adopt his lifestyle. But in Jesus’ case it is worth the cost. In fact, you get back far more than you give up. There’s a cross, yes, a death, but it’s followed by an empty tomb, a new portal to life. Because in the way of Jesus, death is always followed by resurrection.
Peace
John Mark Comer
If it’s true that goodness and mercy follow me “all the days of my life,” how many days do I miss that goodness in my helter-skelter race to cram it all in before sunset?
John Mark Comer
Daily Christian Quote Website
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Graham Cooke
Peace and joy are meant to connect with each other in our hearts. When we are at peace, joy rises. When joy rises, we are at peace. It’s an ever upward spiral.
Rob Coscia
Peace isn’t just an absence of conflict. Peace is your powerful state in Jesus, the reality of his rest, wholeness, perspective, and presence in your life. It’s the ultimate defense against the enemy, because he has no answer for it. He can’t intimidate, manipulate, or corrupt anyone who lives in God’s peace. If you’ve lost your peace, it’s usually because you’ve stopped letting God be your source. Peace that depends on circumstances, or on what others do or don’t do, is going to get broken quickly.
Vance K Jackson
Storms did not bother Christ. In fact, Christ had dominion and authority over the wind and waves. The wind and waves were no competition for Christ. As they vehemently crashed upon the disciples’ boat — Jesus was walking on water. Notice that in the same environment that the disciples were struggling in — Jesus was thriving. Christ wants you to thrive in the midst of the storm. Don’t let the wind and waves of the world serve as distraction.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Trust in Christ despite it all, for He can hush the hurricane to slumber, and lay the storm to sleep.
William Gurnall
Let this encourage those of you who belong to Christ: the storm may be tempestuous, but it is only temporary. The clouds that are temporarily rolling over your head will pass, and then you will have fair weather, an eternal sunshine of glory. Can you not watch with Christ for one hour?
Priscilla Shirer
Impure living, impure thinking, impure relationships, impure affections—upside-down living—creates the perfect environment and breeding ground for demonic activity. It invites him in and then fosters the perfect place for his turmoil and trouble to thrive. Unrighteousness disrupts our peace. It scares away any lasting sense of rest and contentment. It spoils what could otherwise be enjoyable. It complicates experiences that were meant to be nothing but pleasures and blessings. We can’t knowingly create this kind of an environment—the kind that invites the devil to make himself at home—and then blame God for whatever sense of distance we may feel.
Banning Liebscher
When the world is shaking around us, we have to remember that peace is our inheritance.
Jack Frost
The secret of abiding in love rests on Christ, not on me. In Christ and in my spirit there is no striving, no drivenness, no anxiety, and no condemnation.